Crafts of Provence: Projects & Inspiration from the South of France

Ceramic tiles, fabric prints, rush-seated chairs, metalwork, basketry, carved and painted wood-Provence has a rich and varied history of craft traditions. Now, in Crafts of Provence, designer Amelia Saint George shows you how to bring Provenal style and artisanry into your home. Arranged by subject-Fabric, Metalwork, Ce-ramics, Pigment, Furniture, and Garden-each chapter begins with local tradi-tions; and throughout, Provenal homes-from cottages to chateaux-are explored in a wealth of ravishing color photos. The step-by-step projects are elegantly simple and infused with Provenal style: traditional fabrics worked into lovely linens, cur-tains, and pillows; chairs and cupboards hand-painted with regional motifs; a table surfaced with tiny color-glazed tiles; garden paths laid with beach stones; pig-ments in earthy, age-worn colors for walls; an herb garden of lavender and rose-mary; woven cloches and supports for climbing plants. A glorious book for all who are drawn to the warmth and beauty of this celebrated region.

The light and colors that Chagall, Matisse, and Picasso so admired are captured in interior designer St. George's twelfth book on crafts. What's more, she far surpasses the instructional mode, preferring to survey six different Provencal essences, from an outdoors filled with wines and markets to the original Souleiado fabrics, unequaled by other textile manufacturers. For those readers dying to incorporate the South of France inside, there are a dozen or so projects--a boutis pillow, and a tiled floor rug, for instance--to emulate, but all require previous knowledge and acquired skills. The quilted bedcover, she neglects to say, requires a toile de jouy pattern difficult to find in everyday stores. Far better, instead, to use her information as an inspirational source for learning and dreaming, then either visit or explore further the artisans and arts of Provence. Barbara Jacobs
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This book provides a look at the Provence region of France through text and color photographs, focusing on the crafts that define the areaAceramics, fabric, furniture, and metalwork. Each chapter contains a few projects to help do-it-yourselfers create this look at home, though the one-page instructions for, e.g., laying a tile floor may be a bit vague for an amateur. A list of French sources for materials concludes the book. Purchase if there is an interest.
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